Saturday, May 31, 2008

A few months ago I picked up a box of quinoa. I didn’t know what it was or what I was going to do with it, but I’d been hearing a lot about it and figured I needed to get some. I found a lot of recipes for salad-type dishes that involved quinoa, and they all looked delicious, but I wanted to do something a little different. Then I got an issue of Everyday Food that included a recipe for quinoa muffins, and I knew where my new purchase was going to go.

In case you don’t know, quinoa is often used much like a grain, but these little guys are actually edible seeds. They naturally have a bitter-tasting coating and often come pre-rinsed. My box was labeled “pre-rinsed” but, since the recipe calls for a rinsing, I did it again anyway. The seeds are so small that they fell right through my strainer, so I soaked them in a bowl of water and then fished them out with my hands. If you have some cheesecloth handy, you’ll be in better shape than I was.

The rest of the recipe is really easy. It calls for oil instead of butter, which I love. I hate creaming butter. I'm too lazy to get out my mixer and I never remember to take the butter out of the fridge ahead of time. I’m very demanding and when I want a muffin, I want it now. Not 3 hours from now when the butter is soft.

So anyway, I’m really glad I found the recipe for these muffins. I love the bumpy textured top that the quinoa gives the muffins, and they’re really nice and moist inside. They are, however, a tad on the plain side. Next time I think I’ll play around with some spices, maybe cinnamon or nutmeg, but for now, some strawberry preserves will do just fine.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, milk, egg, and vanilla. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, and stir just until combined; divide batter among prepared muffin cups.

Bake until toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool muffins in pan, 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container up to 5 days.

Thank you for introducing me to quinoa muffins. That's a clever add in a muffin. Judging form the title I actually thought these would be savoury muffins but after seing these pictures I'm not at all disappointed, on the contrary :)

I made these on Sunday thanks to you! I had been planning on making them for a couple of weeks, but you inspired me to get up and do it. I enjoyed their bland flavor, but I substituted dried cranberries, which I prefer to raisins on all levels. I think that the dried cranberries changed the flavor quite a bit. Everyone in my office loved them--they were gone before noon.

I just happened to stumble upon your blog when I was googling for a Quinoa muffin recipe. I've made these, from the SAME recipe. I think they're just AWESOME! I actually split the 2 cups of All Purpose flour into one cup of Whole wheat flour, and 1/2 a cup of all purpose flour and 1/2 a cup of ground flaxseed. You know, for an added health benefit (as if these babies needed them). I also added 1/2 a cup more of the dried fruit. I used a mix of raisins and cranberries. It just added a bit more sweetness in every bite. I'll be making these again, and again, and again. My husband loves them! I'll be adding some goji berries I picked up. Hello, superfood!